A siloxane structure consisting of a Si—O—Si linkage is generally defined by distinguishing it into 4 types (Q, T, D, and M).
Among them, polysiloxanes represented as [RSiO1.5]y have the T unit structure among the 4 types of structures, and the scientific name thereof is polysilsesquioxane.
Polysilsesquioxanes are synthesized by using a hydrolysis-polymerization method, and in particular, a method using trialkoxysilane and a hydrolysis-polymerization method using trichlorosilane have been widely known up until now.
The structure of thus-synthesized polysilsesquioxanes is generally known to have high regularity.
However, as the instrumental analysis techniques in the field of chemistry have been significantly improved, it has been determined that polysilsesquioxanes have a cage structure, such as 6, 8, 10, and 12 dimers, a ladder-type, or an irregular structure.
It is believed that the mechanical/physical properties thereof do not reach what was expected from the design of polymer structures due to the mixture of these structures.